Negative constructions in selected Middle English verse texts
Abstract
The objective of the present study is to investigate the historical
development of negative constructions in ME verse and to provide a
descriptive account of it. The central issues analyzed in this thesis
are: (1) the usage of the negative adverbs 'ne', 'not' and some other
negative elements such as 'never', 'no', etc.; (2) the occurrence of
negative contraction as illustrated by 'nam' (< ne am) and 'nolde' (< ne
wolde); and (3) the development and the decline of multiple negation.
The thesis has both a chronological and a geographical perspective,
since it examines changes in usage which took place during the ME
period and various dialectal types. The thesis also includes a
discussion of pleonastic negation and the omission of negative
elements (termed 'unexpressed negation').
For the purpose of these analyses, twenty manuscripts of
eighteen verse texts ranging chronologically from early ME to later
ME are selected from various geographical areas of England. The
texts investigated are: (1) Poema Morale, (2) The Owl and the
Nightingale, (3) King Horn, (4) Havelok, (5) The South English
Legendary, (6) English Metrical Homilies, (7) The Middle English
Genesis and Exodus, (8) The Poems of William of Shoreham, (8) Cursor
Mundi, (10) Sir Ferumbras, (11) Confessio Amantis, (12) Handlyng
Synne, (13) Kyng Alisaunder, (14) Sir Gawain and the Green Knight,
(15) The Affiterative Morte Arthure, (16) Alexander and Dindimus, (17)
The Destruction of Troy, and (18) The Stanzaic Morte Arthur. Due to
the paucity of suitable material for linguistic analysis at the
beginning of the ME period, Poema Morale is investigated in three
selected manuscripts (MS Lambeth, MS Trinity, and MS Digby), all of
which are localized in different areas of England.
Type
Thesis, PhD Doctor of Philosophy
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